Ms Marissa Ryan:

To add to that, EPIC went into the Courts Service in Dublin recently to have a look at the floor plans for the new Hammond Lane court. A couple of years ago we conducted research with our care-leaver parents, who are very regularly in the courts, and that consultation informed some of the review. The findings were exactly as Deputy Sherlock has said. The kinds of things they wanted were more privacy, as we alluded to in our opening statement, places where they can to talk to solicitors when they have questions they need to ask, the option of not being around other people who were very heightened or upset, and not to be exposed to criminal proceedings and so on. We have been told it will be five years before the Hammond Lane facility is built but we hope it will provide a blueprint for the type of environment we should have all over Ireland.

Along with the actual built, physical environment of the courtroom, it is very important we have judges who are trained and specialised and who are open to some of the more progressive practices we have seen recently where, for example, judges will talk directly to children in care or seek a WhatsApp voice note or a letter. That is also very important.

A whole suite of reforms is necessary but we commend the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, on starting the process.